In this week’s episode:

New year… New music… New Graphics…
…and the same ol’ host, J. Todd. To celebrate the start of 2008 he makes a resolution to clean-up his potty mouth. Then, he tries to give away some cash! Watch and win with this weeks show!

Hollywood the Latest Victim of UIGEA?…
When the WTO gave Antigua the rights to profit $21 million a year at the expense of American intellectual property rights, a collective chill could be felt sweeping over Silicone Valley and the Hollywood Hills. There are some out there who believe that — if Hollywood suffers — they are getting just what they deserve!

What are those damned Germans up to Now?!
Last week we told you that Germany has decided to ban internet gambling as of January 1st, 2008. In a no shame attempt to protect their state monopoly, they don’t seem to care what the EU Court of Justice thinks. Now, they may have issues mounting from within, as several online gaming companies may be teaming up to go after them civilly. Where the hell where these guys and the will to fight when UIGEA rolled out?

More…

In this week’s episode:

The EU Cuts & Runs with a $100 Billion Deal…
The European Union’s $100 Billion compensatory claim against the US over the online gambling ban was a great source of hope for many online gamers. It is no more. This week, the EU reached an agreement with the American government that will allow the UIGEA to go unchallenged by the Europeans, thus preserving the ban on internet gambling and the potential for a future US monopoly of the industry within it’s borders.

So what do Americans do now???
Although losing the potential leverage of the EU is a tremendous setback, we still have five additional things working in our favor. What are these five powerful forces that could still get online gambling back to the US in the near future? Watch and see!

Perspectives Now! Live Radio Call-in Show…
The APCW hosts Perspectives Now on Rounder’s Radio every Tuesday night! Rounder’s Radio is dedicated to poker talk and industry news, and our show is live every Tuesday night at 10pm eastern. Listen live and call in!

An interesting vid I found via the PPA’s myspace page. (We’re “friends.” But should I be jealous that Wicked Chops and CardPlayer are “top” friends and Pokerati is not?)

Anyhow, not sure what to make of this CNN story. The bad side is the way they attribute one person’s weakness as signs of an endemic problem. Also bad that there are forces in Congress — a Democrat no less — wanting to further paint gambling as evil. The good side is that this pending legislation pulls out slot machines as something different, and points out that the government is aware of its own abilities to make money via different forms of recreational gaming.

Either way, gambling in all forms clearly is becoming a hot minor issue in the upcoming election year — one that many congresspeople may find easier to take on that some of the country’s more pressing concerns.

News Clip on Bill to Ban Military Slot Machines (12/17/07)

In the spirit of political compromise, I think at least a few of us would be willing to say, fine, pull slot machines from military bases … and make online poker more legal so we can replace the revenues lost from the removal of military slot machines. That would be a win-win, right?

In case you are a little confused as to why we are saying not to pass certain governmental regulations relating to the UIGEA now (as opposed to in 2006), below is an email exchange I had with our good friends at the PPA earlier today explaining what is and isn’t in play.

Ahh, now I get it!

More…

While bills to undo the UIGEA are picking up steam, the Treasury Department is still trying to figure out how to enforce it. And they have to decide on Wednesday if one proposed system of blocking financial transactions will work. Thus, click below to see the letter I just sent out in opposition (with a little help from the PPA). If you would like to do something similar — you have to do it pretty much in the next 24 hours — click here (and scroll down toward the bottom) for instructions on doing your non-lazy-poker-player patriotic duty as an American citizen opposed to bad, non-sensical regulations, policy, and law.

More…

Some interesting developments in the off-the-table workings of the online poker world. Millions of votes and billions of dollars at stake:

BARNEY FRANK’s bill is picking up steam — with 44 cosponsors. Not sure of the party breakdown, but the willingness of others to sign on suggests undoing the UIGEA could be a good “sensible government” issue that, frankly, is easier to deal with than so many other pressing political concerns.

Meanwhile, the conservative anti-gambling forces are starting to organize their troops and take fighting against us a little more seriously. Poker enemy FOCUS ON THE FAMILY is calling gambling “out of control” (via Citizen magazine) — possibly because our political successes are a chance for them to raise funds regardless of the results.

They do, however, remind everybody that you have until DECEMBER 12 to let the feds know what you think about the online gambling issue. (Anyone got a link to a email-your-rep thingy?)

And here’s an interesting article from a decidedly non-poker source about how the UIGEA has been responsible for getting rid of spam. While ZDNet’s RYAN NARAINE guest-posting expert on INTERNET SECURITY makes some good points about how some semblance of internet regulation was able to put poker spammers temporarily? out of business, he carries on to show he doesn’t really know what he’s talking about:

[The UIGEA] effectively caused the death of numerous black hat SEO companies–comment spammers. Perhaps the UIGEA measure against processing of payments proved too difficult to overcome. Not being a lawyer I can’t say exactly how UIGEA caused this death. No matter, US online gambling operations were effectively destroyed.

Spam decreased. The underlying cause for that was that the clients weren’t there due to the inability to process payments because of the online Casinos law.

Not only black hat SEO companies suffered, many spam operations lost clients. There is nearly no more Casino spam in our mail inboxes. Isn’t that grand?

Um, yeah. Wanna make a wager about the casino spam? It just took a break … the pathetic side of the industry shifted around about, that’s all. But by his grand logic, we could get rid of all spam by banning all sorts of stuff on the internet. This is semi-true, but would require the U.S. enforcing its laws beyond its borders … which is part of the problem we currently face.

Anyhow, his GADI EVRON’s semi-informed ignorance is indicative of the types of landmines the poker politicos will have to avoid this year.

Here’s another good non-poker-media story about the House Judiciary Committee hearings on anti-UIGEA legislation.

They paint it as an issue of a power shift away from professional moralists such as the Family Research Council, and essentially mock their arguments defending the UIGEA as non-nonsensical and unAmerican. Gotta say I like the way this hand is shaping up, particularly as the non-poker congresspeople are starting to see the issues in play being about far more than just poker.

Says Andrew Leonard from Salon.com:

As congressional hearings go, this one gets a five-star rating from How the World Works. There were professional poker players referencing John Locke and John Stuart Mill, Tennessee legislators getting medieval on the Family Research Council, and a discussion of the odds against James Bond drawing an inside straight in “Casino Royale.” All this against a backdrop featuring a mighty clash between states’ rights and international treaty obligations.

Watching the Annie Duke testimony (and related non-poker people arguing both sides of pending anti-UIGEA legislation) left me rather impressed. And then I started thinking about Duke’s good work with the Ante Up for Africa charity tourneys … and thus I came to the conclusion … wow, Annie Duke is doing some good stuff these days.

So that has me wanting to know … who currently is the best ambassador in poker? I hate the phrase “good for poker” … that’s the topic of another post, on how it actually hurts the game … but whether it be from a business, political, or game-play perspective, what known poker celeb is using their status to the best of their abilities to make the game better for us all.

Scroll along the right-hand sidebar to let us know your thoughts on who is really representin’.

Reason Magazine has taken note of Annie Duke’s newfound lobbying prowess, too. They were impressed by her ability to cite John Locke and John Stuart Mill.

It’s true that sometimes Beltway outsiders are the ones who can stir things up on the inside. Good stuff. I was about to say how come her Ultimate Bet cohort Phil Hellmuth hasn’t stepped up to the poker politics plate … but on second thought, really, considering what he might have to say and how he would say it, maybe that is for the best.

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee held the Hearing on Establishing Consistent Enforcement Policies in the Context of Online Wagers. Errr, it was about online gaming.

John Conyers (D-MI) chaired the hearing; he has every potential to be a co-sponsor of one or more of the bills up for consideration in Congress, and he visited the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) convention a few weeks ago.

Robert Wexler and Shelley Berkley, both of whom introduced bills supported by the PPA, spoke at the hearing. And representing the PPA was Annie Duke. Her testimony was excellent, and when confronted by members of Congress like Goodlatte, she held her own.

The video of Annie’s testimony (with the introduction by Conyers) is worth listening to…

In this week’s episode:

Sweden, Germany, and France…
What a big week for online gambling, with lots of great news mostly coming out of Europe! Sweden wants into the industry… Germany says any ban on internet gambling is impossible… and even France knows it’s time to surrender.

EU Trade Commissioner in the United States…
Why should we care that the EU Trade Commissioner was in the United States this week? Because this man flew all the way across the ocean to tell the US Congress they’re a bunch of schmucks! Peter Mandelson urged US Legislators to overturn the UIGEA.

Barney Frank, Ron Paul, and Radley Balko…
We all know Barney Frank… many know Ron Paul… but who the heck is Radley Balko? We feature a video from June of this year where Mr Balko testifies in a Congressional hearing about online gambling. You simply must see this video!

This story on Channel 8 has nothing to do with poker … but really it does.

It’s about energy drinks (yum!), and newfound health concerns associated with them. Pokerati has long contended, as the hedline suggests above, that the boom-time business of possibly addictive, taurine-infused pharmaceuticals sold at convenience stores (to kids!) for upwards of $3 a can is just waiting for a little government intervention … because there’s simply too much money being made for the politicos to not want their cut.

What we’re not good with here at Pokerati is time. Whether that will take five months or 15 years to happen, we’re not so sure. But I do find it especially interesting that the Channel 8 story above says that last year there were more than 4 billion cans of lightly carbonated liquid meth sold … which would make the energy drink biz a $12 billion industry. Does that number ring a bell? It should … because it was the estimated value of the online poker industry shortly before the passage of the UIGEA.

You see what I’m getting at? Poker is about math. So is politics …

(And some people wonder why I don’t sleep.)

Part 1:

Click here to watch Part 2. Brought to you by APCW.org.

That’s hard to say — in the sense that Beltway political wonks still say passage of relevant poker legislation is unlikely. But as it pertains to raising awareness, educating legislators, and, in the long run, raising necessary monies … it seems like yes, indeed, great things pokery happened in Washington DC this week.

Click here to see the various media coverage garnered by this poker-rally lobby-fest.

There are some curious strategic matters in play here. After all, considering the current state of the world, it’s not like the non-poker populace is gonna be saying, “Yeah, you know what, better regulation of online gambling is what this country really needs right now.” Or … “We didn’t have these sorts of problems when PartyPoker was in power.”

So to some extent, poker finds itself in a Catch-22. We need to be aggressive and heard to create change … but at the same time, our best bet for passing pro-poker legislation is probably to slip it in under the radar. Like Bill Frist did with the UIGEA — only less dirty-handed. And that’s why this most recent PPA effort seems to have been a good one. No screaming, just talking … but presumably saying the right things to the influential non-masses with the ability to push through some “simple” and “sensible” changes before dealing with the bigger, more perilous issues of our day.

ALT HED: Make Poker Not War!

From Boston to Cali to Las Vegas to Washington DC … it’s all about poker-poker-poker ’til the cows come home.

So wow, so much is going on right about now. A lot of smart people doing a little bit more than just geeking out about poker and the industry’s/game’s/lifestyle’s future. Wish I could be everywhere:

We’ve got the Global Poker Thinking Society getting together at Harvard — featuring Howard Lederer, Charles Nesson, and Crandall Addington.

And then this weekend is the California Poker Conference — where speakers include WSOP Commish Jeffrey Pollack, PPA Executive Director John Pappas, and some influential old-timers such as Mike Caro, Lou Kreiger, Barbara Enright, and many others.

And then on the next day, Pappas heads back to Washington DC, where he’ll be hosting the Poker Player’s Alliance DC Fly-in — a little Beltway lobbying fest on behalf of pro-poker legislation. This is the one I really want to be at — and we’ll try to stay on top of things from afar — because twisting Congressional arms enlightening our representatives is a lot of fun. I gotta say, it also kinda makes me proud to know that our success wooing Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) as a co-sponsor to HR 2610, the Skill Game Protection Act, kinda inspired it.

From CardPlayer:

JP: We had a really great meeting in August with Congressmen Pete Sessions in his Dallas, Texas, office. It was myself and a number of our local PPA members, including Clonie Gowen, who’s a Dallas, Texan, and Robert Williamson III, another Dallas, Texan. We went in and sat down with him and talked to him about the Wexler bill and why it just didn’t make sense that a game of skill is being outlawed on the Internet. And it really resonated and it really came through and what I saw was, wow, this is something we need to replicate, this is something we needed to do more of. Based on that meeting, I thought we needed to get people out to Washington. Whether we make 20 meetings or 200 meetings, I think it’s going to be a worthwhile event.

Very cool! (And well done, Pokeratizen politicos!) Good times, all around. And indeed, we should do more of that.

I’ll be in Vegas … assuming I make my flight, which leaves in — yeow! — four hours, to do the TV Co-hosting thing with Tom Schneider for the inaugural Poker Bowl. This should be a pro-studded affair … even Doyle Brunson will be playing, along with Greg Raymer, Scotty Nguyen, reformed self-colluder ZeeJustin … and Absolute spokesman Mark Seif. Like seriously, we have so much to talk about!

And so little of it to do with how to play in middle position.

Anthony in McKinney-ish writes in with more:

Ok, I swear I’m not an email attention whore, but the hits just keeepp ooonnnnnn coming with this Absolute thing.

http://www.pocketfives.com/06D9EA78-E38F-49D3-AFA1-2B4B128CE7E7.aspx

Not to make it all about blogging, but poker players should be proud of the “citizen journalism” at work in this case. When “former” chief operators of a company are allegedly the ones pegged as playing with “superaccounts” … that clearly can’t be a good thing. Absolute looks to have done themselves in here. Short-term greed catches up with the offenders. This page now seems like a sadly ironic case of Strong Means Weak.

So as the evidence against Absolute becomes more and more solid, it raises a lot of other questions, including:

1. Will anyone go to jail? In an unregulated environment can anyone go to jail?
2. What other sites might be engaging in similar activities?
3. How can we trust that any particular site is not?
4. Will politicians in the United States see this as an example of why online poker needs to be regulated, or will it be their case for why it needs to be more comprehensively banned?
5. Since Absolute is in bed with Ultimate Bet, what will become of that relationship? And how connected are they really?
6. Will UB pros — Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke specifically — speak out on the matter? And/or will they leave Ultimate Bet?
7. Will major online affiliates — such as CardPlayer, PokerNews, and PokerListings, for example — stop sending players to Absolute?

Big questions for online poker. How different folks with a vested interest in the answers react to this situation will tell us a lot about what kinda players we really are dealing with in this biz.

UPDATE: PokerListings is currently refusing to send players to Absolute and Ultimate Bet:

PokerListings.com has temporarily suspended the listing of the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet poker rooms as a result of serious problems with both historical and current payments due PokerListings for services rendered. We are aware that our decision not to list these two brands may be an inconvenience, but as a trusted guide and resource, we do not believe it is appropriate to continue listing them.

Sincerely,

The PokerListings.com Team

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is giving its members an opportunity to lobby for their rights as players and supporters of the game.

When: October 22-24
Where: Washington D.C. – Omni Shoreham Hotel & Capitol Hill
Who: Alfonse D’Amato, Howard Lederer, Barry Greenstein, Andy Bloch, Chris Moneymaker, Victor Ramdin and You

All members of the PPA are invited to join in this Policy Conference. The organizers will be teaching attendees how to lobby Congress, and they will schedule a meeting with each person’s individual Congressional representative for the opportunity to convey your thoughts about poker as a game of skill and why it should be regulated, not outlawed. You can have direct influence with the people who represent you in our government.

Check out the PPA’s website for more info. There is a registration form on the site, and when you let them know you’re coming, the PPA will get in touch with your Congressional rep.

October 8th is the last day to book a room at the Omni Shoreham Hotel with the PPA discount. Some of the activities of the weekend will take place at this hotel, and they will be providing transportation to Capitol Hill from there.

Think about it.

A temporarily anonymous reader writes in with an update on some cases against “alleged” poker dealers and room operators at the Audie Murphy VFW, which was raided (as opposed to just busted) in April:

I just thought you might want to know that all of the Gambling Promotion charges that were pending against 11 alleged dealers, and or operators have been deleted,or shall I say in the words of that wonderful attorney of mine “Dallas County has decided to throw in the towel”. Chalk up another one for the Poker Players and give my attorney a raise? NOT!!! he was expensive enough to begin with but well worth it.

Cool, awesome … good for you. I mean except for the legal fees part. But considering how much money Dallas attorneys tend to donk into a game, it’s probably a wash, right?

(Not sure “deleted” is an actual legal term, by the way. But I suspect it is still good for the defendants.)

More on the VFW and other poker busts in Dallas here.

These came, interestingly enough, just a couple weeks after the Dallas DA publicly declared his support for HB 3186, which set out to clarify the legality of raked poker games and set up standards to regulate such businesses.

More on Dallas’ poker-friendly courthouse here.

Some dudes in Georgia are making a documentary …

“Underground Home Game, The Movie.”

No release date yet … they’re still in the process of making it as they follow a posse of low-stakes players engaging in civil disobedience.

Poker and Pete Sessions now go hand-in-hand as the six-term Republican signs on to champion poker-player interests.

Congress is bucking up for a new legislative season — in a presidential election year, no less — and our representatives have to make calculated principled educated decisions about which bills to stand behind. On Monday, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) signed on to cosponsor HR 2610, aka the Wexler bill or Skill Game Protection Act, which would effectively remove poker (along with bridge, chess, backgammon, and mah jongg) from the aegis of the UIGEA.

Sessions is the second Republican to align himself with this bill, and he promises to lend more than just his signature to the poker cause. “If we decide to get in this thing, it’s not because we’re [just] gonna use my name,” Sessions explained, “we’re doin’ it to get it done. Otherwise it’s like a warm bucket of spit — it’s no good.”

Congressman Pete Sessions (far left, pictorially, not politically) listens to PPA executive director John Pappas, addiction specialist Dr. John Talmadge, DC lobbyist Chris Giblin, and poker pro Clonie Gowen as they try to explain the bipartisan concept of fish.

This was a real opportunity to inform an influential congressman in greater detail about the horrors impact of the UIGEA and plea for emergency humanitarian aid a federal bailout sensible government intervention. It also provided a privileged glimpse into how our system really works and a chance to see the new leadership of the PPA in action … But yeesh, 9 am is a little early, no?!?

More…

Barack Obama giving his best impression of Phil Hellmuth. [Photo by Flap]

The Associated Press just put a story on the wire about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s outlook on poker. Not from a legal standpoint — he publicly acknowledges he played for money while on duty as an Illinois state senator, despite laws prohibiting as much — but about his style as a player.

Obama studied the odds carefully, friends say. If he had strong cards, he’d play. If he didn’t, he would fold rather than bet good money on the chance the right card would show up when he needed it.

That reputation meant that he often succeeded when he decided to bluff.

“When Barack stayed in, you pretty much figured he’s got a good hand,” said Larry Walsh, a former senator.

More than one lawmaker teased Obama about his careful style of play.

“I always used to kid him that the only fiscally conservative bone in his body I ever saw was at the poker table with his own money,” said state Sen. Bill Brady, a Republican from the central Illinois city of Bloomington. “I said if he would be half as conservative with taxpayer dollars, the state would be a lot better off.”

Hmm, sounds pretty much like a rock, not to be confused with Iraq.

(Thanks, Venita, for the tip!)

Ray in Chicago writes in with some relevant, outside-the-poker-box thoughts about why it might be a losing battle to argue poker as a game of skill:

Hi Dan,

I wanted to comment on the bust and on the updates that you linked to.

The underlying theme that is always put forth is that poker is a game of skill, and therefore not gambling. As long as the poker bloc keeps saying that, it will always be more difficult to get it legalized. A large percentage of Americans will never agree with that stance, and many people who could be convinced to support poker as legal gambling will not support it as an occupation of skill.

Think about it this way. Horse race handicapping is a skillful endeavor. Some people are good enough at it to make a living playing the horses (just like poker). Their bets are against other players (just like poker). The house takes a rake (just like poker). But the moment you make a bet and risk your money or the money of a sponsor, meaning that you could walk away a loser, it’s gambling!!

If the poker experts consider horse racing gambling, then for exactly the same reasons poker should be considered gambling.

Instead of trying to convert the people with the say-so your time and money is better spent convincing them that poker is a form of gambling that should be legal. Since poker rooms abound in every legal casino, where gambling takes place, the solution is to allow poker rooms to exist like the casinos and the race tracks and the off track betting parlors.

Good Luck with all the legislation,

Uncle Ray

Thanks for writing in Uncle Ray. And to think, these readers don’t even know that I am currently ranked 24th out of 84,000 nationally in our family football pick’em game. I hate to say you might be right on this issue … but.

What does seem clear is that anyone who has played “gets it,” and any who haven’t don’t. I suspect the people at NORML might contend the same thing.

A telephone interview with John Pappas, new Executive Director of the PPA. OK, so he’s moved into a new office in Washington DC … as poker-minded political efforts move from infancy to toddlerhood, now what?

Good stuff from J Todd and friends, as is generally the case, to those of us interested in the socio-political-economic waves (and butterfly effects) of the poker biz.

• New British gambling laws go into effect. The moralists fear “normalisation.”
• APCW takes on NPR for their gambling-law coverage.
• New American tax on poker winnings chaps some hides.
• Brokeback Harbor.

Yeow. The tax thing is pretty big, I think. (It’s gotta be enough to make Eskimo Clark’s heart skip a beat, yo.) From what I can tell, it doesn’t seem to take into account losses. And the 25 percent … perhaps a tax-minded Pokeratizen can clarify for us … is this in addition to standard income tax that all poker players dutifully report on their W-2Gs?

I mean it’s hard enough for low-stakes players to beat the rake. Now high-stakes players face a juice that seems almost impossible to successfully swallow.

UPDATE: Found a little more good information via Lou Krieger. His take makes it seem just that all casinos have to be like Harrah’s now, and automatically withhold the taxes, that’s all. Sucks, sure, but understandable? Unacceptable? Undesirable?

Just as the anti-poker side is encouraging their “pro family” members to write their representatives about the plagues that will fall if the UIGEA is undone, pro-poker ambassadors are also hard at work rallying the troops. Click below to see the letter Greg Raymer sent out seeking similar political activity from presumably lazy poker types.

Interestingly enough, I have a PokerStars account and am a paying member of the PPA … but didn’t get this email. (It was forwarded to me by Don the Las Vegas Real Estate Guy.) With the other side well-practiced in their methods of swinging votes, I gotta think the poker side may need some extra coordination to keep up with the competition. Perhaps the three federal bills in play would benefit from something similar to what we used in Texas to electronically connect the legislators and citizenry en masse. Seriously, this relatively small programming effort went a long way toward ensuring our beloved little HB 3186 was a good chunk of the hallway/bathroom buzz around the state capitol at a semi-critical time.

Again, Greg Raymer’s request below …

More…

LAS VEGAS–Just like old times … I’ve got so many super-fascinating browser tabs open I can’t keep up with them all. So please, allow me to unload:

The major tournament action underway is the LEGENDS of POKER at the BIKE in CALIFORNIA. Perhaps we’ll swing by …

MIKE MATUSOW, with his second-place finish in the main event of the BELLAGIO CUP III, is no longer broke. Apparently his $670k payday left him with 50 grand all to himself. In the real world this means he now qualifies for a loan. In the poker world it means he no longer does, unless he goes broke again.

DANIEL NEGREANU’s got a pretty good skill column this week, talking about manipulating table image to better reap the rewards of shifting gears. Hmm, something to think about?

From the Dept. of: Awesome … PHIL HELLMUTH will appear on The Surreal Life. Might an ass-kicking be inevitable, as he moves into a house with RANDY “Macho Man” SAVAGE, MISS CLEO, NANCY MCKIBBEN (who?), DABNEY COLEMAN, and the uber-pumped CARROT TOP.

BILL RINI, whom I consider an expert in matters of online cheating, has up a video that I thought was informational warning about a new form of MARKED CARDS circulating. But upon closer look, turns out to be just an ad hawking the illicit poker gear (compliments of GOOGLE).

Interesting (biased?) article here on what Google supposedly does to keep online poker seekers away from the bad poker sites.

Speaking of cheating … has anyone heard word of who might have been the high-stakes players allegedly swindled in major cheating scam at the BORGATA? Famed cheating consultant STEVE FORTE, of course, was one of the guys busted, even though he uses the journalist’s beloved excuse of “I was just working on a story!” Suddenly scary: the notion of tapping into hole-card cams.

Suddenly needed: a big-time poker security accreditation system?

Check it out … DUGGLEBOGEY is back to his old tricks sticks:

Glad to see the return of some more friendly faces.

Here’s a great article on the rise and fall of an ONLINE PRO — how you can go from $10k to $1.5 million and back down again. It coincides with a semi-related story about KaiBuxxe / RealAndyBeal — a 22-year-old Austrian and former MAGIC player who is tearing up the world of POT-LIMIT OMAHA.

And BRIAN TOWNSEND (aka “sbrugby”) — an online superstar turning to live games — is in the midst of a $3 million downswing. This according to his own blog. [via PokerKingBlog]

Dude, tell me about it … I’ve been running similarly bad:

POKER IS HARD!

Looks kinda like a PARTYGAMING stock chart, no?

SHANNON ELIZABETH was unable to play in the Victoria Poker Championships in AUSTRALIA … because she got carded at the door and didn’t have her ID. The male contingent of Pokerati has always wondered why ladies go anywhere without their license/passport/prescription.

Speaking of Australia, it may have slipped under your radar that the AUSSIES, along with CANADA and MACAU, have joined the WTO dispute against the UNITED STATES over the UIGEA. The beef started by ANTIGUA and BARBUDA seems to be growing some teeth, as others fighting against the chief enemy of AL QAEDA include COSTA RICA, INDIA, and … the EUROPEAN UNION. Think this fight isn’t about the future of international online economies as much as it is about poker?

A group called IMEGA continues to challenge the controversial internet law in court, and have their fingers crossed that a federal judge in New Jersey will issue a TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER in September.

Speaking of lawsuits and court actions in September, attorney and PPA representative LEE ROUSSO has a hearing set for his suit, which challenges the Constitutionality of WASHINGTON STATE’s law that makes playing online poker a felony on par with CHILD MOLESTATION.

A CARIBBEAN BUSINESS CONGLOMERATE will be entertaining a bunch of AMERICAN CONGRESSPEOPLE in November to explain Antigua’s WTO stance, among other things. In attendance will be CHARLIE RANGEL (D-NY-Taxes) and BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS-Homeland Security),

AMERICA ONLINE wants in on online poker. Or at least online SPORTS BETTING, as AOL has entered into an internet bookmaking contract with a GERMAN company, FLUXX, which will target punters in the UK.

A good article from the BRITISH PRESS here — describing the UIGEA as a “TROJAN HORSE” given to the European gambling industry.

Meanwhile, British online gaming company WILLIAM HILL says they are having a hard time keeping poker players, because the EUROS really want to take on the AMERICANS (at Bodog, for example).

Over in the PHILLIPINES, they have (finally) opened up a bar-and-grille with amateur Texas Hold’em tourneys (scroll down near the bottom).

The nightly non-wager Hold ‘Em tournaments at the Player’s Den hope to further sharpen the skills of the Pinoys in this ultimate mind game where we can eventually excel worldwide.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

You may notice a lot of linkage today from this PokerKing guy. He has a lot of good stuff to read, including this article on why JERRY YANG is bad for ONLINE poker. Maybe maybe not, but I tend to agree with the wisdom of LOU KRIEGER, who recognizes that poker is a long-term game, and Yang couldn’t have come at a better time.

Here’s one of the more balanced takes on the JERRY YANG FOR PRESIDENT campaign.

“The misinformation campaign is in full swing, and Congress is the target.”
- letter in support of UIGEA

As efforts to circumvent, overturn, repeal and/or just generally undo the UIGEA are gaining momentum, the anti-poker forces are acting as if the UIGEA has saved hundreds of thousands of babies and is an essential part of protecting us from terrorism. And as crazy as what they say may sound — seriously, their arguments couldn’t hold up in a high school debate class — politics has nothing to do with what’s right and/or makes sense … it’s simply a matter of how each side plays its chips.

Click below to read the letter the other side is sending to members of U.S. Congress with hopes of making any anti-UIGEA legislation better off untouched:

(Then feel free to pick it apart at will.)

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Wow, that was a surprise … looks like Neteller funds have been freed up for US customers. Check it out:

We’ll see if it actually arrives. But no reason to believe it won’t. Quicker than I expected. Nice!

UPDATE: Money did arrive. Woo-hoo, pizza with extra toppings it is!

LAS VEGAS–It should be noted that today is the day the 270-day enforcement grace period for the UIGEA expires. But the Treasury Department has been unable to come up with a plan to force American banks to enforce the legally questionable act. While some of us — including yours truly — expected this July 13 marker to prove very dramatic and telling for the future of online poker, it’s actually been rather anti-climactic. Hardly a peep about it at the WSOP … neither Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, nor Otis has been arrested.

A court case that could lead to the overturning of the act is scheduled now for September 4.

More on iMega vs. the UIGEA here.

And here.

A little too little a little too late, perhaps … but the Houston Chronicle has a great piece by columnist sports-blogger and ESPN/The Ticket radio talk-show host Jerome Solomon about why poker in Texas shoulda been legalized. Lavigne in Austin certainly has the message down … and others are starting to hear it. Encouraging, actually, to know that next time around what the poker people have to say might actually make sense to those who don’t play, and even those who might be generally against gambling.

Makes me think that maybe some of us have been using the wrong term — “legalized.” As this column points out … poker already is legal in Texas (like golf, and fishing, and bridge) and all we are looking to do is allow people (and the state) to profit off letting certain good folks offer a slightly souped-up version of the game … just updating the current laws that already allow the game to be played. Can you imagine if it were legal to golf, but illegal to run a pro shop? Maybe our use of the term “legalize” makes it sound like drugs.

I’m about to quit thinking about the Legislature and Politics for a few days over the long weekend. In the meantime, those of you who are in Central Texas should consider attending this.

The Poker Players Alliance is helping with this fundraiser for US Congressman Charlie Gonzalez (D-San Antonio). The PPA has been a reliable ally in our fight to bring poker back to Texas, so lets help them bring online poker back to our country:

You are invited to celebrate Congressman Charlie Gonzalez’ 62nd Birthday at…

CASINO POLITICO
A Vegas Style Political Fundraising Event with Congressman Charlie Gonzalez

Thursday, May 31, 2007
5:30pm – 9:00pm
The Spire at Sunset Station
St. Paul Square - 230 Center Street - San Antonio

Casino Politico Sponsorship Levels
$ 62 - Jr Secret Agent - Admission for 1 person (purchase playing chips at the door)
$ 250 - Agent Q - Admission for 2 persons and $ 50 worth of playing chips
$ 500 - Agent M - Admission for 4 persons and $100 worth of playing chips
$1,000 - 00’ Agent - Admission for 6 persons and $ 200 worth of playing chips
$2,300 - Goldfinger - Admission for 8 persons and $ 500 worth of playing chips

To RSVP or for more information, call
210-886-9229 in San Antonio

Paid for by the Charles A. Gonzalez Congressional Committee.

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One poker-related legislative measure that did make it out of the House and seems likely to be passed by the Senate is HCR 109 — a “concurrent resolution” officially recognizing Robstown, Texas (near Corpus Christi) as the birthplace of Texas Hold’em.

Not sure what the role of these resolutions really are — but I think any that get this far pretty much pass with zero debate since they don’t grant any sorta additional rule-making authority nor relegate funds in any way. So assuming this feel-good-for-Robstown declaration passes — along with resolutions to designate the bolo as the official state tie, and the boot as the official state shoe (scroll down to the bottom) — well … nothing changes.

At least not right now.

But I gotta think any future efforts to legalize poker in Texas stand to benefit from Abel Herrero’s political warm-fuzzy to get some gung-ho Texas poker pride written into the books.

a successful hold’em player relies on reason, intuition, and bravado, and these same qualities have served many notable Texans well throughout the proud history of the Lone Star State

Click below to read the whole resolution. It paints quite the interesting story — and could have a hypermajority of representatives from both parties technically saying “Yay!” to charity poker, online play, and $10,000 events while also acknowledging the “game of skill” concept.

(Has to be, right? If not, why are so many Texans so good yeee-haw!)

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The Texas legislative session is coming to a close, and save for the chance of hitting a miracle half-outer on the river, the Texas Poker Act is dead. Bummer. But better luck next time, right? And until then, I guess it’s off to Oklahoma we go!

Good article in the DMN about how Dallas essentially got its butt kicked on many issues that might matter to this city. What poker people might also find interesting is discussion of House Speaker Tom Craddick. He, of course, was essentially the guy who killed the poker bill. I mean he didn’t kill-kill it — officially he declared his neutrality — but he had the power to put it somewhere better on the calendar and chose to go the other way. Craddick, followers of Texas politics may know, has some hot water of his own to deal with right now — as a lot of people within the Republican Party want to replace him.

Mr. Craddick is in a pitched battle to retain his post as speaker. Three Republicans who have signaled their intent to replace him are from North Texas: Reps. Jim Pitts of Waxahachie, Fred Hill of Richardson and Brian McCall of Plano.

I don’t know much about Fred Hill. But Jim Pitts … in addition to advocating the execution of highly problematic pre-teens, was part of the minority declaring intent to vote against our beloved HB 3186. And lest you think nepotism abounds in Texas politics … this despite the fact that his brother and nephew, John and John Jr., were the chief lobbyists on legal poker’s behalf.

As for Brian McCall, despite his being one of the more liberal Republicans in the state … well … Pokeratizens know all too well that we’ve got some work to do in terms of endearing him to our cause.

ALT HED: Murmur?

If you haven’t had enough of famous politicians running for President, now you can throw a playa into the mix.

Greg Raymer for (Vice) President!

Hmmm, I see campaign contributions flowing already.

A Pokerati friend whose name may or may not rhyme with Rudy Giuliani writes in with some good reminders about how the political process works:

Condolences on your temporary setback, but don’t give up. If the Texas legislature is anything like New York’s (where I spent years as a staffer) then the following things are true (and if they sound facetious, they’re not):

1) No major bill becomes a law in the first year that it is taken seriously. (unless it bears the name of a child who died a tragic death.) That could be due to a healthy prudence that insists on letting an idea ripen before turning it into a law; or it could be a cynical ploy to extract more campaign donations and/or raise the political stakes before delivering the goods. Most often, I think, it’s just the rhythm of the institution. It takes a couple of years to see if the public support for the bill is serious enough to make it worth the confrontations that will be needed to get it passed.

2) No bill ever becomes a law just because it’s obviously a good idea; somebody with the clout to push it through has to have a political motivation to do so.

3) When a bill has strong public support, and enough sponsors to ensure its passage, but somehow gets held up in the process and never makes it to a vote: that’s when it gets interesting. Nine times out of ten, somebody loses money if this bill becomes a law, and that person (or industry group) has a lock on some powerful member who is able to hold up the process. The point of resistance needs to be identified and the sponsor of the bill has to be pushed into a confrontation with the powerful member. (Getting a law enacted is like giving a deep massage: you have to find the hidden resistance point and work it real hard, and if it isn’t painful you’re not working the right spot.)

Just some thoughts from a scarred veteran of many political wars. If you want to post this on your site, please don’t post my name; I’m still active in state government and it might be awkward if this came up when my name is googled.

Anyway, keep at it; the second year is the most important one. As the crap dealers say when you buy in for the second time: Better luck, sir!

Sorry I didn’t post immediately after HB 3186 saw its untimely demise this week, but I went out and drank to bed Thursday night after it became evident that we weren’t gonna get there.

Lets bring the vitriol down a notch and look at the big picture here. I’ll do a proper post-mortem later, but for now lets remember a few things:

1) All good bills take time to pass. I was one of the primary organizers behind the legislation to give Texas teachers paid health insurance. That took us about 4 1/2 years in a time when the state was pretty flush with cash. Not because we did anything wrong, not because the system doesn’t work, but because that is just how long it takes to tell everyone what you want to do and why. We are WAY ahead of the curve on this one.

2) Nobody expected a bill this good to get filed…much less out of committee, through calendars and given a slot on the floor.

3) Our bill didn’t die because legislators don’t like/want poker. Our bill died because there were some major bad bills ahead of it that legislators didn’t want to get to. That is just the way it goes. Frankly, we are probably better off that some of those bills didn’t get voted on.

So, where does that leave us? That leaves us with about 2 1/2 weeks left of session. The possibility does still exist that we could amend our language onto another eligible bill that has already made it through one chamber. I’ll spare y’all the procedural civics lesson for now, but it is a possibility.

If that doesn’t work, we have 1 1/2 years to get ready to do this again. That isn’t very long. We will need to build up a better organization, raise money and stand together until then.

Stay tuned. The fatcats may be singing, but the fat lady isn’t even getting warmed up.

I’m sure this won’t piss anyone off … but check out the letter Rep. Brian McCall (R-Plano) sent to a concerned poker citizen who requested his support on HB 3186:

click to enlarge

Wow. Way to encourage participation in the political process, sir. I think a lot of elected officials — perhaps the majority even — forget that regular people like Mr. Rogers are their bosses, not their bitches. I may be a little jealous because he has way better hair than me tilty based on the way he belittles a citizen who simply did what he was supposed to do to let his representative know where he stands on an issue. You’ll notice McCall doesn’t actually take a stance … he pretty much just calls Jason stupid for doing so.

Click below for more insight into what a simple-minded congressman Rep. McCall may or may not be …

ALT HED: Why We Lost, Exhibit A

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Just because our little poker bill in Texas didn’t make it over its biggest hump doesn’t mean the fun of fighting for legal poker is over. We got all sorts of federal fisticuffs on hand, and here we are talking about putting people in jail for life and the battle for control of an online economy! Woot!

From our good/Myspace friends at APCW: